Ironing table



Jam 9, c DANIELSON IRONING TABLE Filed Aug. 27, 1931 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 5, nut-equipped bolts 16.

Fatented Jan. 9 1934 PA ENT- OFFICE moNING TABLE Charles Danielson,

Minneapolis, Minn.

" Application August 27, 1931. Serial No. 559,668

2 Claims.

My present invention relates to folding ironing tables and is particularly designed as an improvement on or modification of the ironing. ta-. ble disclosed and claimed in my prior Patent 5, No. 1,784,959, of date December 16, l930,.butinvolves certain features which are capable of use in connection with other ironing boards.

Generally stated, the invention consists of the novel devices, combinations of devices and arrangement of parts hereinafter described and de-j fined in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, which illus. trate the invention, like characters indicate like parts throughout the several views.

Referring to the drawings:

Fig. l is a side elevation which, by full lines, shows the ironing table set up for use and by dotted lines, illustrates an intermediate folding position;

Fig. 2 is a rear elevation of the table;

Fig. 3 is a bottom plan view of the board showing the supporting legs and co-operating devices folded against the board;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary section taken on the 26 line 4--4 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary section taken on the line 5-5 of Fig. 2; and

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary section taken on the line 6'.6 of Fig. 2.

The board or table top is indicated by the numeral 7. Rigidly secured at the wide .rear endthereof is a transverse metal reinforcing strap or bar 8, the ends of which are bent downwardly to afford pairs of hinges 9, to the outer. faces of which rear legs 10 are pivoted for swinging movements longitudinally of the board, and

with freedom for lateral movements toward and from each other. A transverse metalstrap or plate ll-is rigidly secured to the board a conside 0 erable distance from its tapered front end and this strap, at the rear edge of its central portion is outwardly bulged from the board to afford a pocket-like stop 12 for the front end of the strutforming bar 13 presently to be more fully considered. The oblique leg for supporting the 'table in conjunction with the rear legs is formed by a pair of bars 14, the upper ends of which are pivoted to the inner faces of the hinge lugs '9 and the extended ground or floor-engaging ends of which are brought together'and rigidly connected by a nut-equipped bolt 15 or the like.

It should now be noted thatthe. upper ends of the rear legs 10 and ofthe bars of the oblique leg 14 are pivotally connected to the lugs 9 by The rear legs 10, at points considerably above their lower ends, are connected by a cross-tie bar which, if the legs were not to be spread when moved toand from the board, would be an ordinary tiebar, but which, when the legs are to spread when turned down, and to move closer together when moved against the board, would be in. the form of a toggle lever. This toggle lever as shown, is made up of heavy sheet metal members 17 set vertically edgewise for forwarding movements in a vertical plane or in the plane of the legs 10. Said members 17, at their outer ends, are relatively wide and near their upper longitudinal edges are pivoted at 18 to the rear legs 10.

By reference to Fig. 2, it will be noted that the pivoted connection between the members 17 is slightly below the dead center when said brace t is straightened. Stop abutments 19 are formed on the outer ends of the members 17 below their pivots l8 and are arranged to engage the opposite inner faces of the legs 10 when the toggle lever is straightened, thereby affording stops, which assist in forming a good brace between the two legs. When the toggle lever 17 is straightened, as shown in Fig. 2, it spreads the lower ends of the rear legs 10 considerably beyond the width of the board 7, but when said toggle is buckled, it movesthe lower ends of the rear legs closer together so that they will come within the widthof the board, as shown in Fig. 3. Formed in. the upper longitudinal edge portions of the toggle members 17 are notches 19, which come intoalignment when the toggle is straightened, and serve to purpose which will presently appear. The toggle-forming members 17, at their free ends, extend beyond their pivotal connection so that they overlap for a considerable distance and these overlapped end portions are releasably connected when the brace is straightened, by a pair of hook-like retaining lugs 20 formed on the lower edges of said members. These retaining lugs 20 securely hold the overlapped end portions of the braces pressed close together against lateral separation when the toggle is subjected to rear thrust under conditions hereinafter to be noted.

The'strut bar 13 before noted is shown as formed by a single wooden bar, the intermediate portion of which is pivoted on the cross-tierod 21, the ends of which are rigidly secured to intermediate portions of the bars 14 that form the oblique or third leg of the table. The bar 13 is shown as held against lateral shifting movements by washers 22 secured on the cross-tiered 21.

It will be noted by reference to Fig. 1, that the strut bar 13 is pivoted off center on cross-tierod 21 with a longer and heavier front portion forward so that the tendency thereof is to fold into the plane of the oblique leg 14 when released.

The end of long portion of strut bar 13, as shown, is tapered so that it may be detachably engaged from the pocket-forming flange 12 of the anchored strap 11. At its rear end, strut bar 13 is notched, as shown at 23, and this notched portion is adapted to be seated in the aligned notches 19 of the toggle members 17, when the board-supporting legs are set up, as shown by full lines in Figs. 1 and 2.

As a convenient way of setting up the ironing table, the board is stood on end, with tapered end downward and supported on the projecting end of oblique leg 14. Then by taking hold of the upper or short end of the strut 13, and swinging the same away from the board, the board will be engaged by the lower end of the strut 13 and swung away from the pair of legs 10 until the lower end of strut 13 passes over cleat 11 and into locking engagement with the pocket thereof. Next, the legs 10 are swung away from the oblique leg 14 until the end of the strut bar 13 engages the toggle 17, straightens" the same, and interlocks its notched end portion 23 with the aligned notches 19 of said toggle.-

The straightening of the toggle, of course, spreads the rear legs 10, as already stated.

To fold the ironing table, the operator places his foot against the lower end portion of the oblique leg 14 and at the same time lifts the tapered end of the board to release the upper end of strut 13 from its interlocking engagement with the strut 8. The released strut 13 will fall by gravity into substantially the plane of the oblique leg 14 and this movement of the strut '16 will release its lower :end from the brace 21.

The tapered endof the board is then lowered onto the oblique leg 15 and at which time the strut 13 completes its folding movement into the plane of the legs. The operator next lifts the wide end of the board and turns the ironing table into upright position in which it rests on the oblique leg 14. During this movement of the ironing table, the. upright legs 10 will automatically fold into the plane of the oblique leg 14. Thereupon, the. operator buckles the toggle or jointed brace bar and draws the spread legs 10 into closer, to wit: substantiallyparallel arrangement and within the width of the board.

An ironing table of the character above described has been found emcient, but difliculty has been found in the manufacture and maintenence thereof so that the supporting parts of the table will be held under proper tension or stress when set up to give the table the desired rigidity. This lack of rigidity is due to the fact that the legs, braces and the like of the table cannot in any ordinary process of manufacture be made a perfect uniformity and even if so made, will not maintain such uniformity and this is especial-i 1y true of the wooden supporting legs and members which are liable to warp and are subject to variable springing actions.

To overcome the above defects, I have provided an adjustable tension device which may be quickly reset at any time and thereby adjust the relations of the board-supporting members so that when set up, the entire supporting structure will be put under good tension and hence form-a well-' trussed and very rigid support for the ironing board.

This tension device as applied to the structure above illustrated, comprises a tension rod 24, the forward end of which is pivotally connected to the contracted free end of the oblique leg 14, as shown, being clamped between the bars thereof and pivoted on the bolt 15. At its extended free end, this tension rod is screw-threaded, is provided with a nut 25. (preferably a thumb nut) and is passed through an anchoring bracket 26 rivetted or otherwise rigidly secured to the cross tie-brace that connects the lower portions of the rear legslO. In the application of this tension device to the toggle 1'7, the bracket 26 is rivetted to one, to wit: as shown, the right-hand member of said toggle. This bracket 26 is a substantially L-shaped structure, being provided with a forwardly bent portion 2'7, see particularly Figs. 4 and 5. This bracket is provided with a slot 28 that extends from thevertical into the horizontal or forwardly bent portion of said bracket, and at its front end is laterally surrounded by a slot-extending notch 29. The reason for the above angular formation of the anchoring lug and of the slot therein is as follows: When the table is set up, as shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 4, the threaded end of tension rod 24 drops into that portion of the slot 28 that is in the vertical or body portion of the bracket 26. Movement of the rear legs and oblique leg into folded position above just noted causes the threaded end of the tension rod 24 to move into that portion of the slot 28 that is in the offset portion 27 of said anchoring bracket; and when the toggle 17 is buckled, as shown in Fig. 3, the threaded end of said tension rod takes an oblique position and moves into thenotch or extension 29 of the said slot.

Obviously, if the cross-tie 17 was a single or rigid member, the notch 29 would not be required, but nevertheless, the extension 27 and the extension of the slot thereinto would be required to permit the folding of the legs against the board without bending the tension rod.

With the above tension device applied as described, it is obvious that if at any time, when the legs are set up to support the board, there is a play between the parts, nut 25 on tension rod 24 will be tightened until the parts are put under the proper tension and this, of course, may be very quickly done. It may not be necessary to adjust the said bolt every time the table is set up, but meansis afforded for quickly accomplishing the proper adjustment at any time it may be required. In practice, it has been found that by quick and simple adjustment of the tension device, the supporting members may be adjusted and put under such tension as to give a very rigid support. From the foregoing, it is evident that this tension device may be applied to different table structures in different ways and in itself it is capable of' modification within the scope of the invention herein disclosed and claimed.

' What I claim is:

1. A folding table comprising a board, a pair of rear legs connected to said board-for forward and rearward pivotal movements, an oblique leg pivoted to said board and arranged to project for wardly from said rear legs, a tiebar connecting the lower portions of said rear legs, a strut bar pivotally-connected to said oblique leg and detachably engageable with said board and with of said oblique leg, an anchoring bracket on said tiebar, said tension rod having a threaded end passed through said anchoring bracket and provided with a nut operative against the same to adjustably vary or regulate the tension under which the legs will be set to support the board, and which anchoring bracket is approximately L-shaped with a forwardly bent end and is provided with a slot, through which the threaded end of said rod is passed, said slots being extended from its upright body portion into its forwardly offset extension.

2. A folding table comprising a board, a pair of rear legs connected to the board for forward and rearward pivotal movements and for lateral spreading and approaching movements, an oblique leg pivoted to the board and arranged to project forwardly from said rear legs, a toggle-acting tiebar connecting the lower portions of said rear legs, a strut bar pivotally connected to said oblique leg and detachably engageable with said board and with the intermediate portion of said toggle-acting tiebar, a tension rod pivotally connected to the free end portion of said oblique leg, and an anchoring bracket on one of the members of said toggle-acting tiebar, said tension rod having a threaded end passed through said anchoring bracket and provided with a nut operative against the same to adjustably vary or regulate the tension under which the legs will be set to support the board, and which anchoring bracket is approximately L-shaped with a forwardly bent end and is provided with a slot, through which the threaded end of said rod is passed, said slot being extended from its upright body portion into its forwardly ofiset extension, said slot having a slotexpanding notch in the offset upper end portion of said bracket for the purposes set forth.

CHARLES DANIELSON. 

